Thus, Jesse, Haida native Randolph Johnson (August Schellenberg) and Rae begin plans to release the orca. They use equipment at the park to load Willy onto a trailer, and Jesse and Randolph "borrow" Glen's truck to tow Willy to the ocean. They try to stick to back roads to keep from being spotted with a gigantic orca, and eventually get stuck. Wade meanwhile notifies Dial that the orca is missing, and begin a search to find Willy.Willy is finally released into the water, but Dial and his goons attempt to stop them. During the struggle, Jesse is able to get Willy to swim away, but panics when he sees that Dial has the whaling company to back him up when their boats show up in the water. They release nets and Jesse has one last chance to get Willy away before he becomes trapped. He runs towards a wall of rocks, calling for Willy to follow him, which steers him away from the boats. Jesse goes to the edge of the rocks where Willy swims up to him and tells Willy that if he makes the jump (it will be the highest jump Willy has ever attempted), he'll be free. Jesse then starts to cry as he tells Willy goodbye, but pulls himself together and goes back to the top of the rocks. He says a prayer that Randolph taught him from a story from his tribe and throws his arm in the air, giving Willy the signal to jump. To the amazement of everyone, Willy makes the jump with no problem and is finally free to return to his family and escapes the boats. Everyone cheers and Jesse happily jumps up and down, but stops when he realizes that he'll probably never see Willy again. He goes back to Glen and Annie who hug him as they look out into the sea.